Regents approve new housing and dining rates for universities

Members of the Kansas Board of Regents approved Thursday new housing and dining rates for its universities.

Some members of the board objected to the rates, saying they were outpacing the inflation rate.

Regent Gary Sherrer said the rate increases would be passed directly to students and their families in tough economic times.

“This is a proposal that’s sort of business as usual,” he said. “I just don’t think it makes any acknowledgment whatsoever that these are unusual times.”

He and Regents Chairwoman Donna Shank voted against Kansas University’s proposed rate increases, but the board passed it over their objections.

KU asked for, and received, an increase that would raise a typical yearly double occupancy room and board rate by 5.1 percent, or $328.

Other regents who voted for the measure noted that students had input into these decisions, and that Kansas’ rates are typically lower than that of institutions in many comparable states.

In other action at the two-day meeting this week:

• Regents agreed to ask the Legislature to return control of admissions standards to the Board of Regents.

If the board did choose to alter the standards, it likely would not implement any changes until 2014 to allow present high school students to complete the curriculum they began.

• Regents amended their 2010 budgets to include provisions to allow for the construction of new buildings for the KU Edwards Campus and the KU Medical Center. The buildings will be funded with money from the Johnson County Educational Re-search Triangle sales tax.